Daintree River Cruise

On our second full day in far north Queensland, we drove to the Daintree River for a sunrise cruise. This was really special. There was only the two of us with the pilot, his wife, and dog in a solar powered electric river boat. A glorious morning on the river looking for wildlife.

One of early finds was the 9 month old saltwater crocodile seen above. One of the great things about touring with a person passionate about the river and who is on it everyday, is we learn who the animals really are. There's no way to know the age of this creature except by watching it grow.



We also saw a frequent friend, the White Faced Heron. Here he is prancing on the shore considering a spot of fishing.

In the trees we was an Olive Backed Sunbird on a limb.

Herons were abundant along the shores of the river at low tide. Here is another White Faced Heron.

We were also treated to a sighting of the Little Kingfisher. Small and arresting in his bright colors, he brings that bit of spice to the more subdued forest/river pallette.

The Great Egret is doing a little fishing along the banks this morning as well.

There are of course more sinister looking animals in the trees. This tree snake is sunning himself in the cool morning light to warm up a little before he finds breakfast.

As always on a river in the far north, the star attraction is the Saltwater Crocodile. This is old man of this section of the river and there is every reason to believe that that young one we saw earlier is his son.

Our guide explained that this croc is approximately 60 years old and his eyesight is beginning to fail. Sure enough, shortly after this photo was taken, he swam strait into a tree limb at the edge of the river. He backed up, submerged, and went around it.

I'm sure he is carrying many battle scars but the portions of him we could see were impressive in their color and contrast with that bright yellow eye.

We found a second snake hang about.

And saving the best for last, this tiny creature is a Mud Skipper. I never imagined that I'd get to see one of these special fish. A member of the gobie family, this is an amphibious fish. Some part of his day is spent on land. They defend their territory and feed when on land. We watched this guy use his fins to propel himself along in jumps and leaps. He breathes through his skin and mouth. But he must remain wet, so we find him here in a very humid place along a river bank. Fascinating aminals.